Volume 36 Number 8 August 2005

2005 Portland National NRHS Convention

Extra SP&S700 East (The Western Star) approaching Wishram, WA July 6, 2005. Photo by Martha Isbrandt Inside this issue Meeting Notice Officer Contact List P.2 The August meeting will be a President’s Page P.2 picnic on August 20th start- Chapter Loses Long P.3 ing at 1pm until ?? at the Time Member boat launch park in Prescott, Dick Prosser’s Passing P.3 WI adjoing the BNSF To the NRHS Conven- P.3 mainline. tion The Long Way To Portland NRHS P.6 Follow US Highway 10 south Cnvention on the Em- and east from St. Paul to the pire Builder fork in the road at Prescott. To the NRHS Conven- P.8 Turn right following the tion via the California Great River Road sign and Zephyr and Trains right again at the next inter- Unlimited Special section (Orange St.) Cross Minutes of the July P.13 the tracks to the paved park- PMageeet i ng ing lot. Northstar Chapter Officers Board of Directors President H. Martin Swan Email: [email protected] Phone: 612-961-1684 Vice President Mark Braun Email: [email protected] Phone: 320-587-2279 Past President Bill Herzog Email [email protected] Phone: 952-470-4021 National Director Doug Johnson Email: [email protected] Phone: 612-825-6458 Treasurer Joe Fishbein Email: [email protected] Phone: 651-457-1610 Secretary Dave Norman Email:[email protected] Phone: 612-729-2428 Trustee Dennis Louden Email: [email protected] Phone: 651-698-8559 Staff Program Chairman John Goodman Email: [email protected] Newsletter Editor Russ Isbrandt Email: [email protected] Phone:651-426-1156 Webmaster Dan Meyer Website: www.northstar-nrhs.org Note: Consult the website for any announcements regarding Chapter activities including cancellation of meeting for any reason including weather. Membership Information

Dues are $32 (this includes $20 National dues and $12 Northstar Chapter dues). Family memberships are $3 additional. If you want to join, an application is available at http://www.northstar-nrhs.org/. Print out the application and send it with a check made out to Northstar Chapter, NRHS to Treasurer, Northstar Chapter NRHS, 1092 Humboldt Ave, West Saint Paul, MN 55118. Editor’s Note

You will note that this issue is much larger than usual. This is because of the large number of chapter members who attended the convention. Many of them took long distance train trips to the convention. Their stories are included in this issue. The Presidents Page

It is a sad day for our proud Chapter. The NRHS’s Hierarchy with the other chapters at the Board of Directors Meetings succeeded with their change in the by-laws that invoked but instead the strength of our vote has been diminished and weighted voting. No longer do we stand shoulder to shoulder the strength of the vote of the larger chapters has been en- Page 2 hanced. b y siblings Fredric (Joan), Barbara (Robert) Koenck, Robert (Marlys) and Virginia (John) Zeuli, also numerous nieces and It’s not so bad that it happened, but how it happened. The nephews and many friends. Memorial service was observed National Organization did everything they could in their bag of June 14th. The chapter wishes to express our sympathies to tricks to keep the members from knowing what they were the family. voting on. You might recall when you got the proxy request from the National there was a nice note from President Dick Prosser Passes Away Molloy saying how wonderful the new by-laws would be. It is my sad duty to report the death of good chapter friend If you examined your proxy form, there were at least two and long time Minnesota railfan and author of the book Rails ways to give the National your proxy to vote as they pleased. to the North Star (Dillon Press 1966), Dick Prosser. He Nowhere was there any mention of any opposing view. passed away in California July 27th from a combination of “They” knew that I opposed weighted voting with others. strokes and a heart attack. “They” knew that I proposed an amendment in April to elimi- nate weighted voting, but they kept that information SECRET Dick was one of a core of Twin Cities railfans, which included from the membership. When it came down to the vote, they Clark Johnson, John Goodman, John Kennedy and Roger had some 3000 proxies and we had no chance. Clark, who documented railfan trips, branch line travels aboard mixed trains, doodlebugs and freights throughout the Note: I do not say all the 3000 proxies didn’t know what they upper Midwest in the mid 50’s and into the ‘60’s. were signing, but I would bet a dime to a Krispy Kreme donut that a vast majority just signed without the benefit of the Dick was employed by the 3M Company for a number of facts. When I asked Greg Molloy why he didn’t feel that the years before moving out to Berkeley, CA in the 1960’s to be NRHS should adhere to a higher standard than that with family out there. “required” by Maryland Law, he refused to answer, instead sending the lawyers to the podium who amused us with their Dick favored us with slide shows once or twice a year until legalese without answering the question. failing heath prevented him from traveling back from his home in California. Well, anyway the battle has been lost but not necessarily the war. Weighted voting is a fact at this point. Perhaps we Dick had been living in an assisted care facility of late and should try to form alliances with other 2 and 1 vote chapters was recently visited there by Dan Meyer and Dawn Holmberg. to make certain that the big chapters that the National favors Dick is survived by a niece, a Ms. Bellows, of Palo Alto, CA. don’t totally take over the Society. ======Dick’s passing is a significant loss to the chapter. Our deep- The Northstar Chapter Board of Directors (5 of 7 were in at- est sympathies go out to his niece and close friends. tendance) met Sunday July 17th. I don’t have the official minutes, but among other things, we discussed the purchase of a Kodak Carousel projector and/or a digital projector capa- To The NRHS Convention The Long Way ble of projecting DVD’s similar to what we used at our last meeting. Discussions were made involving the investment of By Russ Isbrandt our money and Joe is looking into that. Discussions were With the future of Amtrak long haul trains very much in doubt made concerning trips, including the possibility of a overnight this winter, I decided the NRHS convention in Portland might trip to the Illinois Railroad Museum next year. be my last opportunity to do a long distance Amtrak trip. As a result I made reservations to go to Portland via Los Angeles This month is our annual picnic. There will be no member- on the Texas Eagle, to Portland on the Coast Starlight, return- ship meeting. The picnic will be over in Prescott WI in a small ing on the Empire Builder. Two days before our scheduled park right behind the BNSF main line. We should be starting departure I learned the Eagle due in the week before we at about 1:00 pm and stay until we want to leave. I may not were, arrived over 21 hours late. The previous train arrived be able to make the picnic. On Aug. 4th I go in to have my 12 hours late. Under those circumstances, I decided to see if right knee replaced and I won’t be able to drive for about 6 space was available on the Southwest Chief. It turns out I weeks. So even if I’m not there I hope you all go and have an could get a deluxe bedroom cheaper than what I paid for a enjoyable time. roomette on the Texas Eagle. I therefore made the change and was lucky enough to obtain a deluxe bedroom on the I do hope you are all finding away to keep cool. For those of Builder to for less than the refund I got on the Eagle us that went the Portland Convention, coming back to Minne- ticket. So on Wednesday June 29th we departed St. Paul 2 sota’s oppressive weather this summer has not been pleas- hours and 12 minutes late. ant. Marty This was not one of Canadian Pacific’s better performances. The BNSF threw up a red signal in front of #8 at Hoffman St. Chapter Loses Long Time Member causing us to make an emergency stop, which in turn re- John Melius, age 64, of St. Paul, died on June 10, 2005 of quired a roll by to check for flat wheels. Things went relatively heart failure. John, a long time chapter member, is survived smoothly until Milwaukee where the “wheels came off the Page 3 cart” so to speak. Signaling problems caused numerous stops to be talked through red signals. As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was a 10 mile 10mph slow order. On top of that, there was a freight in front of us also being talked through the red signals and on the 10mph track. Unfortu- nately there were 3 freights and Amtrak 337 on the west- bound track preventing us from crossing over to by pass the freight in front of us. At the new Milwaukee Airport stop, our crew had to stop and manually align the siding switch through which the freight in front of us passed, back to the mainline. Thirty six miles out of Chicago we started following the yellow blocks of freight #288 until he departed the mainline at Tower A20. Arrival in Chicago was at 7:53pm, only 4 hours and 13minutes late.

After a pleasant night at the Palmer House, where a free up- grade to the “Executive” level resulted in a complimentary breakfast, we toured Chicago’s new Millennium Park built over the former Illinois Central lakefront yards. This is a very impressive park featuring gardens, two large glass brick monoliths facing a reflecting pool, a state of the art concert venue and a huge egg shaped polished stainless steel sculp- ture reflecting the Chicago skyline. Big, BIG bucks were spent Pacific Electric 1058 restored to rail operation after having on this. By all means, if you have any kind of layover in Chi- been converted to rubber tire operation for movie use as in cago, check this out. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”- Photo by Russ Isbrandt

That afternoon we departed on the Southwest Chief. We took wouldn’t show expensive camera or video equipment. Clearly the Santa Fe all the way (ok , so it started out on the Burling- unlike along some streetcar and light rail lines, gentrification ton until just past Galesburg). On our particular run it seemed and redevelopment has most definitely not taken place. as though the Santa Fe of old was handling this train like the The 1.5 mile long San Pedro streetcar line is operated with a Super Chief. The line east of Newton, Kansas and west of restored Pacific Electric wooden car, 1058 and two short PE Dalies, New Mexico (south of Albuquerque) was extremely replicas built in San Pedro by the Port of Los Angeles employ- busy. Between Chicago and Kansas City we encountered 15 ees. trains. From Dalies, NM, where we rejoined the freight main, to Flagstaff we encountered 27 trains, including 5 within 9 Sunday we rented a car at Union Station for the day and vis- minutes near Dalies. We were 1 hr.27 min. late leaving Flag- ited Travel Town in Griffith Park and the adjacent Los Angles staff, 1 hr. 10 min. late at Fullerton, and arrived at Los Ange- Live Steamer Association’s railroad. This is very impressive les Union Passenger Terminal 7 min. late at 8:22 am. layout with a tunnel and a couple bridges. Unfortunately they prohibit photo taking while riding their scale model trains. The line west of Newton, KS to Las Animas, CO was mostly jointed track and fairly rough. Between Las Animas and La Monday July 4th saw us board a nearly on time Coast Star- Junta, where the coal trains run, we had welded rail. From La light. Previous days’ trains were leaving 2-3 hours late be- Junta to Dalies, NM, the line is mostly jointed rail again. cause of very late arrivals. The train scheduled to arrive from The locomotive consist was rather interesting: in addition to Portland at 9:30 pm had been arriving in Los Angeles at the usual P-42s (93 and 163) there was 504 a P32-8 and closer to 5:30 am the next day. 458 a F59 PHI . We left a mere 36min. late. But the UP had “plans” for us. Since #3 got us out to California a day earlier than the Texas Here we had a standard roomette. However we had access Eagle, we had time to tour. We rode the Red Line subway out to the adjacent Pacific Parlour Car. The Pacific Parlour Car is to Hollywood, the San Pedro waterfront streetcar and the a rebuilt 1956 Budd ex-Santa Fe High-Level lounge car, the Blue Line light rail line from Long Beach to downtown. glass roofed predecessor to today’s Amtrak Sightseer cars. About the only visible interior hint of the original car was the We took the “express” bus out to San Pedro for the water- ceiling fluorescent light shields, perforated to give the appear- front streetcar. All I can say was the bus was air conditioned. ance of stars. Unlike the hard riding High Level coach-dorms It was an extremely noisy and teeth jarring ride on a bus. The used on the Empire Builder years ago, this car rode as well as route was over the Harbor Freeway on dedicated bus lanes the Superliners. The car features delightfully comfortable with intermediate stations, including one with a crossover swivel easy chairs, settees and tables with a bar at one end. similar to that proposed for I-35W in Minneapolis. Local poli- Downstairs they converted the lounge into a small theater ticians pushing for Bus Rapid Transit should be forced to ride with a large screen TV. Soft drinks and snacks were available that bus for an entire day. By contrast the Blue Line light rail all day long and at 3-3:30 pm a wine tasting party took place cars were smooth and quiet, though it’s one line where I with three different wines tasted with cheese and crackers. Page 4

Shortly after checking into the convention hotel, we rode Port- land’s MAX light rail train out to the airport to pick up a rental car to chase the double headed steam powered Western Star train to Wishram, WA the next day. There is virually no devel- opment yet at at least two of the airport line stops. Like the light rail line in Minneapolis, they have to stop at the all the stations to wait for the crossing gates to go down whether or not they discharge or receive passengers.

Wednesday we headed downtown to watch the departure of BNSF passenger extra SP&S 700 East. SP&S 700 is Spo- kane Portland and Seattle’s copy of a Northern Pacific 4-8-4. It lead the SP 4449 resplendent in Daylight colors. The 4449 led on the return trip. We only managed two shots on the chase, but it was two more than the train riders got. Thursday we rode the Port of Tillamook Bay special from Banks, OR to a siding at Enright. It was only 37 miles, but at

Coast Starlight Pacific Parlour Car Photo by Russ Isbrandt

Mid-evening our attendant came though with freshly baked hot chocolate chip cookies! Photo runby at Enright on the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad Delays started with a 7 min. wait for Amtrak 798, a San Luis Photo by Martha Isbrandt Obispo – Los Angeles train containing Amtrak’s only full length dome. At McCay, just north of Paso Robles, we waited 23 min. for a very late southbound Coast Starlight with pri- 10mph it took the better part of the day. The scenery was vate car Scottish Thistle bringing up the rear. At Gonzoles we spectacular and the chilly ride in the gondola was well worth met a manifest freight whose engineer didn’t know where his it. Outbound the gon was behind the three hard working SD- train ended and so made two stops fouling the siding switch 9s. before our engineer informed him that he was clear. This Friday I took the Brooklyn Roundhouse, tour while Martha took 30 min. By Klamath Falls we were 2 hours 42 min. late scoped out the Lloyd Center Shopping Mall. The roundhouse departing , with track work at Eugene still to come. It took us is UP property and was tightly guarded. Nevertheless it was 40 min. to go 13 miles south of Salem, with slow orders and an enjoyable visit with lots of goodies to see. Both the SP&S a signal failure. For every red block our engineer had to call 700 and the SP 4449 were placed on the turntable and ro- the dispatcher, wait for him to answer and get permission to tated for photographers. Doyle McCormick’s Alco PA had run through the red block. As a result, we finally got into Port- most of its sheet metal in place and was painted as Nickel land 4 hrs. and 37 min. late. Contrary to a recent Trains Plate 190. It was handsome indeed! The prime mover and Magazine article, Union Pacific is NOT on the mend. generator are in and being overhauled. An ex-SP&S Alco FA was outside in primer. There was a SDP 40 unit painted light There was some advantage in the delay in that we awoke at blue with what looked like a National of Mexico shield. To- Dunsmuir and essentially received the best of a Shasta Day- ward the end of my session the rains came. light ride, (Southern Pacific’s daytime train between Oakland and Portland) with a daylight ride up the Sacramento River Despite the rain, Martha and I rode the MAX downtown to the Canyon, excellent views of Mount Shasta and a daylight ride Portland streetcar line and rode it in the fare free zone. This over Cascade Summit and the descent through McCredie is operated by the , independently of MAX. Springs and Oakdale. Each stop has a corporate sponsor. As a result the announce- Page 5 is especially bad and I told my Dr. to replace it, sometime in the next 3-4 weeks. But for Portland, he gave me a cortisone shot---which did nothing. He might as well have put water in my knee, so as result I was hurting on this trip and wasn't able to do many of the things I wanted to do, including riding the Portland light rail.

This trip was free to me; I spent 20,000 Amtrak Reward Points for a roomette to Portland and an equal amount to ride business class to Seattle and then in a roomette to St. Paul. (I now have just under 6,000 points--and all those points are free since most of them came from my Am- trak Master Card which I pay off every month-so no interest charges, making the points completely free.) As is my habit I got to the depot early, about 9:45 pm, the train was due in at 10:31 pm and actually arrived about 11:20 pm. (I was told that they waited for a 5 hour plus late City of New Orleans.) Doyle McCormick’s Alco PA at Portland’s Brooklyn Yard Roundhouse Photo By Russ Isbrandt The train had its usual line up: 2 engines, baggage car, Seat- tle transition sleeper, two Seattle sleepers, Seattle dining car, ments go something like this: “Alder St. Next, Sponsored by 2 Seattle coaches, Portland lounge car, 2 Portland coaches Jake’s Grill” The shelter at the sponsored stop has the spon- and Portland sleeper. Coming off in St. Paul was the local sor’s name on it. The “streetcars” are low floor shorty articu- Chicago/St. Paul coach. lated light rail cars. The stops have displays showing when the next car is due. This is an excellent, easy to use system. Of course I was in the Portland sleeper, roomette 7. The first Unlike the light rail line, ticket machines are on the cars in- thing I noticed was that it was not a renovated sleeper. The stead of at the stops. 2nd thing I noticed was that it was warm. The corridor was cool but the air vent in the room only offered a trickle of The annual membership meeting was the first I didn’t fall air. Regardless I was in bed when the train pulled out at high asleep at. President Molloy tripped going up to podium, the midnight. secretary was so discombobulated he forgot what we were voting on, a member was threatened with ejection from the Next morning I decided to walk 5 cars to the dining car. Basi- meeting, a member who looked for the world like a homeless cally I could walk about one car length, then had to sit down person, complete with dreadlocks took the floor and rambled to let the knee rest before I would walk the next car. I noticed incoherently. That was some of the fun stuff you may not that the train was packed. I already knew that all three sleep- read about elsewhere in this issue. It was quite a show. ers were sold out, but the website was still selling coach tick- ets. Well let me tell you that the coaches were packed The banquet featured Doyle Mc Cormick, engineer and princi- too. Every single seat had at least one person in it and the ple leader of the 4449 restoration, and Steve Lee of the Un- vast majority had 2 people in the seat pairs. The Portland ion Pacific, Manager of Operating Practices (and the Big Toys- Builder and the Seattle Builder's coaches were equally Steam Engines and Rotary Snowplows) parenthesis by your packed. The lounge car was one of the newly renovated ones editor. Both were very entertaining. The message from both where they had taken the lounge seats out of one end and was enjoy mainline steam now because its future is uncer- replaced them with 4 tables on either side. tain. Doyle and Steve razzed each other. Mr. Lee comment- ing that someday he’ll retire and watch the steam trains from Eventually I reached the dining car and was seated. Our be- his front porch while Doyle will still be running the engine he’s loved Secretary of Transportation said only 53 (I think that watching! Doyle commented on the pleasure he took in let- was the number) rode the Empire Builder. I would love to see ting the 4449 set its own pace on the fine welded double him try to explain away this train. I think we had more than track BNSF main east of Vancouver, WA, just as a jockey lets 53 in the dining car. After a satisfying breakfast of French a fine thoroughbred race horse set its own pace. Toast (with strawberries) and bacon, it was time for the long walk back. To Portland and Seattle on the Empire Builder When I got to the lounge I decided to drop downstairs and talk to the attendant to see if I could just get a sandwich By Marty Swan there for lunch instead of at the dining car. NO! She said a new policy forbade her to give food free to the sleeping car passengers. She said she used to have sleeping car checks to On July 5th I boarded the Portland Empire Builder for a won- fill out but they took them away from her. derful trip west to Portland OR. Oh well, since Amtrak refused to let me have a free soda (had First, many of you know that I have bad knees, my right one Page 6 to get that in, didn't I), I decided to buy the fixin's for a rum val in Portland was 15 minutes early. and Coke (OK Pepsi). At first she refused to sell them to me since she said she doesn't sell liquor before 10:00 am. Well I The on-board services crew and operating crews didn't say begged so I wouldn't have to walk back and she relented so I much or weren't seen too often on this trip. The dining car bought a Pepsi and a little plastic bottle of rum to take back persons were very friendly and service was great. My room to my room. attendant was a very nice person, came around at various times to see if he could be of assistance, and had no problem While all space was sold out, the room across from me (8) with my request for food in my room. I liked him especially was a no show, which was very nice for me since on this en- because he was there when I needed him, but he didn't try to tire trip my roomettes were on the "wrong" side. So with become my buddy. I gave him my standard tip, $5.00 per number 8 vacant I could just switch back and forth. I did ask night= $10.00, plus $5.00 for extra service and $2.00 extra the conductor why they didn't sell it the 2nd night and was simply because I was pleased, for total of $17.00. told "Not in the summer". It appears that they don't offer the lower room charges during the busy summer season, but I As stated the Portland Empire Builder arrived 15 minutes have to wonder if that was just him or new Amtrak policy. early. I had checked my 45 pound "trunk" which had NRHS emblem sales merchandise in it and another suitcase The room continued to stay warm. If somebody walked down that had 15 of our new denim long sleeve shirts in it a couple the corridor, their passing would briefly blow air into the of days before. John Goodman, with whom I was sharing a room. hotel room, had taken those over to the hotel. All I had with me was my large camera bag and a small suitcase on We started late and we stayed late and later, basically we ran wheels. We really need to continue baggage service and I around 90 minutes late throughout the day which cost us 90 would be happy to pay a buck or two for checked baggage minutes of mountain viewing time. service.

Lunch time came and I again worked my way to the dining I got to the convention hotel, the Double Tree after a $6.00 car. I must have lost some weight or they redesigned the cab ride. I got to the room that John had occupied for the tables in the dining car: usually I have to hold my breath to previous two days and we would share tonight. Then I would slide into the space, but this trip I was able to easily slip have it for the next two days. The Double Tree had a new, to in. The salad with chicken breast was good. Then it was me, gimmick. Each bed had 5 pillows on them--lots of pillows. back to the sleeper, a long walk when your knee hurts so bad your leg doesn't want to move. I had wanted to explore Portland a little bit but my knee was so bad I knew that I couldn't. I could see the light rail line that That afternoon, I enjoyed my rum and Pepsi while watching ran along side of the parking lot of the hotel but I know that I eastern Montana go by. would be in pretty bad pain if I tried to go out and catch it. So I just went down to the Convention display room and set up a I decided I wasn't going to walk to the dining car again and table to sell the NRHS's merchandise. I didn't do too badly. asked my attendant to bring my meal to me. I really wanted That day and the next I and my assistant sold just under to try the cold chicken that was put aboard at Havre, but he $1500 worth of merchandise. told me the lounge car attendant refused to let me have one unless I paid for it. Heck, I have already prepaid for two The next day, Friday, I sold merchandise, attended the Board meals at each mealtime in that room, I was damned if I was of Directors meeting and then the Membership meeting. I going to pay for a 3rd meal, so I had him bring back the hot chicken dinner from the dining car.

This he did in good order. It used to be that when they brought back a meal, it was on a plate covered with tinfoil. They now have a carryout plastic container with a lid in which the meal nicely fits. Very little chance that it would be dropped and lost and convenient to eat out of.

As soon as it got dark, west of Whitefish, I hit the hay so I could get up at the crack of dawn to see the Columbia River Gorge.

I only woke up once, and that was as we left Spokane, now only 15 minutes down thanks to a big schedule pad plus short station stay.

As I planned, I got up early and made my way to the lounge car for breakfast and to view the fantastic view along the Co- lumbia River. I only saw 3 UP freights on the other side. Arri- Portland MAX train in downtown Portland, a free ride from the Double Tree Hotel. Photo by Russ Isbrandt Page 7 was the leader of the opposition which opposed "weighted until it’s time to board an Amtrak train. Our train finally voting". The National however, to my way of thinking, used showed up at 9:24 pm, 90 minutes late. We boarded and questionable practices to gain 3000 proxies in their favor and were told to go to a different room than originally assigned; won going away. we ended up in a room in the lower level of the car instead of the upper level. Dan has wanted to travel in the lower level Saturday was the only Convention trip I signed up for. It was a for quite some time, and both of us enjoyed the quiet you get long bus ride to ride the Mt. Rainer Scenic Ry. It was a long in ‘steerage’. day but fun, except due to the cloud cover we never did see Mount Rainer. The Pacific Northwest Chapter ran a fine trip We woke up around 6:00 am, and figured we were 90 miles behind double-headed geared steam powered train and we or so from Denver. Surprise! Punching Denver into the GPS, didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30 pm , 12 1/2 hours after we figured out we were actually 350 miles east! Talking to we had left. fellow passengers and listening to the conductor’s announce- To be Continued in September ment, it turns out that we had locomotive trouble near Lin- coln, NE and they had to rearrange our locomotives - what To Portland On the California Zephyr was the rear locomotive was moved to the front and vice- and Trains Unlimited Special versa. We also had to wait 30 minutes for a freight train that had minor mechanical problems. By Dan Meyer and Dawn Holmberg We went to the dining car for breakfast at around 7:40 am, and were put on a waiting list. We waited a half an hour in Tuesday June 26th found Dawn and me (Dan) getting up early to meet my brother Dave at the Saint Paul Amtrak station, the lounge car, and were called to breakfast. We both en- joyed our French toast and bacon. where he would give us a ride to the downtown Minneapolis bus depot. We would then take the bus to Osceola, IA where we would board Amtrak’s train # 5, the California Zephyr. Because of Amtrak and freight delays, and track slow orders, Dave met us as arranged at 6:45 am, and we were at the our operating crew (especially the conductor) was running up on what is known as ‘hours of service’. The law states that Minneapolis Greyhound bus depot by 7:15 am. operating crew can not work more than 12 hours for safety Our Jefferson Lines bus boarded at about 7:45 am, and we reasons, and the conductor’s time was up at 9:00 am moun- departed at 8:07 am, 7 minutes late. Our bus lost a minute or tain time. The relief man was transported out to the little town of Yuma, Colorado, where they met our train at an un- two at each stop. We had a 40 minute stop for lunch at the scheduled stop at 8:50 am. While stopped, we were enter- Mason City bus depot, which is at the (in) famous Mason City airport. If you are traveling in the Mason City area, and want tained by the prairie dogs living next to the tracks. The crew something a bit different than the usual fast food along the and the dispatcher decided to pick up the relief engineer just outside of Denver, so we made it in at 11:40 am. The train is interstate, stop at the restaurant at the airport. However, it’s scheduled to arrive at 7:30 am. only open between 8 am and 5 pm.

We made a few more stops between Mason City and Osceola. We met some friends riding the train during the stop in Den- ver. They were riding in private cars (which cost more than 3 The notable stops were the Ames stop, where the bus depot times what we are paying for first class on Amtrak!). They and bus garage were the same place. There were some inter- esting old buses stored in the dead line there. Another inter- were out washing the windows on the private cars, while Am- esting stop was Des Moines. The bus took side streets to the trak personnel washed the windows on the rest of the train with squeegees by hand. The ride from Denver was the usual bus depot, where we turned quite sharply into a very steep spectacular ride up and over the Rocky Mountains. Since we driveway. I didn’t think the bus would be able to turn sharply enough, but we made it! were running 4 hours late, we had lunch with a WWII veteran who last rode this line in a troop train, and his daughter who was a history teacher. Upon arrival in Osceola a few minutes late, we called a cab to take us to the Amtrak station. The cab driver warned us that the train would not be in for quite some time, but he was The ride was a little frustrating because we kept traveling happy to take us there. Since the station wouldn’t be open very slowly due to track work, and after meeting our east- until 7pm, we had to walk across the tracks to the north side bound Amtrak counterpart, we got stuck behind a freight train for several miles. At dinnertime we were in the dining of the station to a city park and sit on the grass in the shade of juniper trees to keep cool. There were no benches, just car while the train stopped in Glenwood Springs, and ate din- grass. It got to be 92 degrees, and was quite humid. After ner for most of the distance to Grand Junction, where we ar- seeing one freight train in 90 minutes, we trudged 3 blocks rived about 5 hours late. Our dinner companions were going to Moab, Utah to go mountain biking, and they were getting (with all our luggage--Ugh!) to eat dinner in an air-conditioned, sit-down restaurant. We then walked back to the station to off the train at Grand Junction. wait for the agent to open it up. The station is non-air condi- tioned and very warm, so we were inside long enough to pho- Grand Junction is another stop where you can stretch your legs and say hello to fellow passengers. The sun was just go- tograph it, but wandered around or sat outside on the south ing down, so we could at least see a bit of the station area side of the station. Due to safety reasons, people are not al- lowed on the north-side platform when the station is open before it got too dark. Page 8 We went to bed around 10 pm, and woke up someplace west peared and acted as if he was in pretty good shape. of the Nevada/Utah border around 6:30 am. When we We caught a taxi to the BART Ashby station for a ride down to stopped in Elko, NV we were only about 4 hours late, so we Fremont to meet Dan’s aunt, uncle and cousins. We arrived made up a bit of time. at Fremont right on time, and had to wait about 10 minutes for Dan’s relatives to show up. We then traveled to their The scenery in eastern Nevada is much greener than I ex- home for lunch, and then to visit their son and his wife, who pected. Also, there is a lot of water around in both flowing had just brought their newborn 3rd baby home from the hospi- streams and large swampy areas. Earlier today we saw tal. Later that afternoon, we visited the office of their com- mountains with some snow patches still on the top! puter business, and had a nice dinner at a Mexican restau- rant in Fremont. On the way back to BART we saw an interest- We have been following a freight train for about an hour or ing van painted up like a Burlington Northern Santa Fe loco- so, and have lost a bit more time. We would travel quite motive. We rode on BART back to the Mac Arthur station by slowly for several miles, because the signals show the track 9:30 pm where the hotel shuttle was nice enough to give us a occupied by a train ahead. While we are traveling slowly, the ride back to the hotel, and we were in bed by around 11:00 freight train in front of us got far enough ahead that the sig- pm. nals for our train displayed green--so we sped up only to find the next signal showed ‘slow down’. Every now and then we Rising early on Saturday July 2nd, we packed up and went got so close to the train ahead we had to stop and proceed down to the lobby to catch a taxi, where we met Brian Cutter. very slowly. We expected to be in Winnemucca, NV around He expounded about his circle trip that included the Altamont 10:45 am, about 4 ½ hours late. We actually got there at Commuter Express to Stockton the day before – it sounded 10:55 am, and left at 11:05 am. It is also a station stop like a neat trip! The three of us shared a ride to the Emeryville where passengers can get out and stretch for a bit. The Amtrak station where a crowd was already gathering. We weather was so nice that many people were in no hurry to tossed our checked luggage onto the baggage cart and said reboard. The conductor had to yell “Board!” more than once hello to old friends while we waited for the train. An east- and also provide a little “friendly encouragement” for the bound and a westbound freight train waited for our train to crowd, to get them to move. He didn’t want the freight follow- pull up to the station. Our train pulled in not too far off sched- ing us to have the chance to pass us and slow us down. After ule, with a freshly painted F9 in the SP “black widow” paint leaving Winnemucca, NV, we were able to consistently go 70 scheme; it looked wonderful. We settled in our seats in the mph. former Amtrak Clocker coach Arizona, and we were on our way slightly behind schedule. We departed Reno, NV at 2:35 pm PDT, 5 ½ hours late. The conductor on the PA estimated a 9:30 or 10:00 pm. arrival in At Martinez and Sacramento we stopped and picked up a Emeryville (Oakland). Due to being so late, the dining car was surprising number of passengers. We also crossed the upper open for dinner, which to us is a bit of a surprise. On more reaches of San Francisco bay on an old vertical lift bridge. A than one occasion we have had a pizza or sandwich handed new bridge was being constructed right beside the old bridge. to us by Amtrak when the train is running late, instead of full It was quite a construction site, with each bridge pier being dining car service. topped by its own tower crane. While stopped at Sacramento we saw an Amtrak California intercity train sitting on the sid- One other technical note: between the steep canyons and the ing. It had a GE B32-8 locomotive--#2051—one of only two on poor satellite geometry, the GPS receiver did not work well on the roster. Another intercity train came by us while we were in this part of the trip. the station, and it too had a GE B32-8 for a locomotive-- #2052. Dawn was able to photograph them together in the Our train (scheduled in at 4:49 pm) finally arrived at Emery- ville, CA at 10:45 pm Pacific Daylight Time, and the hotel shuttle came and picked up the group that needed to go to the hotel from the train.

On Friday, July 1st, we awoke relatively late, got ready for the day, and phoned longtime Northstar Chapter friend Dick Prosser at the assisted living center in Berkley. A little while later he returned our call, and we arranged to meet him. Later that morning we caught a taxi to see him and we had a nice visit. Among the many things we discussed was the opening of the Cedar Avenue, the MN&S and the Blooming- ton Ferry bridges along the Minnesota River in the spring of 1965. As always, it was quite a story. We also asked about how he was doing, and he replied emphatically that he was getting better and his heart doctor said that his heart was in wonderful condition. After about an hour we said our good- byes, and were on our way. The sad news of Dick’s recent The Trains Unlimited Special at right and two Amtrak Califor- passing caught us completely by surprise because he ap- nia trains center and left at Sacramento, before brake valve Page 9 s ame frame, along with the SP F-unit on the special train. Somewhere north of Shasta Lake we stopped to meet a What a treat! freight train. We stopped next to a campground, and enjoyed watching people fish and play in the river – the same river As we traveled up the valley north of Sacramento, it was that had been poisoned by a pesticides a few years ago when warm! We lucked out and we had seats in the car with the a derailment resulted in a tank car emptying into the river. best air conditioning. We met a train or two along the way, The bridge where this happened has a very large guard rail and the scenery was wonderful. At one point we had to follow capable of keeping railroad cars from dumping into the river a double-stack train into a siding to let an on-coming Amtrak in case a derailment happens again. train pass us. Since Trains Unlimited Tours was nice enough to open the whole train to everyone, Dawn and I rode on the We had a nice lunch of your choice of three different chicken open platform of the Montana for a while. It was the furthest salads; Dan had the spicy chicken salad, and Dawn had the forward car open to the public on the train, with only the bag- oriental chicken salad. They were very good, considering we gage car between it and the locomotives. We also had the had no dining car. chance to ride in the tail car of the train, the ex- Cedar Rapids for 10 – 15 minutes at a One of the problems on this trip was the lack of communica- time. In both cases, it was quite a ride! I’m still not sure the tion from the Trains Unlimited staff. We did not know when view is worth the additional cost, but someday we will pay the lunch was going to be served until a few minutes before extra fare and spend the whole trip in the car! hand. We also didn’t know what was planned once we were on the McCloud River Railway, which we met at their junction North of Redding, the railroad enters the Sacramento River in the town of Mount Shasta. What we learned was the Am- canyon on a line relocation necessitated by the construction trak locomotives were left in Mount Shasta, and the train was of the Shasta dam. Since it was a Saturday, there were many to be split into two sections. We were in the first section, and people swimming and boating on the lake. It looked like a lot took off for the Signal Butte switchback as soon as we were of fun, but we were enjoying the rolling party on the train! ready. The second section was pulled by a McCloud River

First section of Mc Cloud River Railway extra with Dan and Dawn aboard. Photo by Dawn Holmberg

Railway SD-40, and they were quite a long way behind our section. At the switchback, our section of the train did a cou- ple runbys, and we waited a very long time for the second section of the train. We also waited for the McCloud River dinner train, which many people had tickets to ride. The sec- ond section and the dinner train showed up within 15 min- utes of each other, and the passengers for the dinner train boarded. We’ve read on other web sites that the McCloud River engine had problems, which caused some of the delay. The passengers on the second section were not allowed off, so they missed the photo runbys.

We continued on our way, and arrived in McCloud, California at about 8:30 pm. The second section arrived, and we all boarded waiting busses, and waited about 20 minutes for no apparent reason. We were finally on our way to the motels, of which there were several. Luckily, our motel was the first stop A brief ride in the Skytop Lounge. Photo by Dawn Holmberg Page 10 on the radio for Lance Erickson, and the person who re- sponded did not know who he was. Since Dan did, he went looking for him. Lance was found in the Milwaukee Road Su- per Dome. After another 15 minutes the F-unit was declared a lost cause due to a problem with the brake control stand.

During all of this work to get the locomotives situated and ready to go, the Trains Unlimited car host came looking for the person who wanted to ride the chase bus. Dawn was up like a shot, and out to the bus!

When our train stopped at the Union Pacific main line to switch locomotives, I was allowed off the train. I followed one of the Trains Unlimited attendants to the grade crossing, where the photographers were lined up to photograph the locomotive moves. Once the Amtrak units and the ‘black Mc Cloud River Railway dinner train. Photo by Dawn Holm- widow’ former SP unit crossed the street, I stopped to photo- berg graph the former WP locomotive one last time before board- ing the chase bus. The bus stopped in Weed, CA at a conven- at about 9:30 pm. We registered, dropped our bags and went ience store for snacks and water, and then we were off to set next door to the Chinese buffet for dinner. We were in bed by up for the special at Black Butte siding. There is a water 10:30 pm, and our 4:30 am wake up call came way too early! tower, cistern and pump house at this siding, along with a water pipe next to the tracks. I was told that it is there for The wake up call came much too soon on the second day of steam engines and fire-fighting trains. We waited what our tour. The phone rang at 4:00 am, and we were awake. seemed to be a long time for something to happen. We saw a We cleaned up and were out waiting for our 5:15 am bus, late northbound Amtrak Coast Starlight come by at 10:20 which was reasonably close to on time. After a short bus ride am, while the stopped southbound bare table train started to (10 miles) from the hamlet of Mount Shasta to McCloud, we move. We then waited and waited and waited. The tour were at our train. There was a steam engine working up in leader called to the special several times to find out about the yard, but there was absolutely no communication that the the delay. Apparently the former SP unit had a leak in the steam engine was doing runbys, and that there would be no brake system, and couldn’t be used. All this waiting around more runbys later that day. gave me plenty of time to photograph the graffiti carved and written on the water tower, the lizards sunning themselves on We finally boarded our section of the train, and left town via its concrete base and the butterfly resting on the back of my the yard. The track that we followed through the yard made hand. At 11:05 am a westbound UP freight came by. Then, our train look like a roller coaster ride! It went up over a hill, finally, at 11:22 am the passenger special showed up. We all turned, went down a very steep short hill about two passen- photographed it, and then reboarded the bus. ger cars long and then under the sanding tower for the rail- road. It was quite amusing to see. From Highway 97 we were able to see the train on the side of a mountain with Mount Shasta in the background. We Our section of the train had two locomotives: the SP black stopped at ‘Grass Lake’ siding to photograph the train with widow F-9, and a WP GP-20. Nearing the switchback at Signal Mount Shasta in the background. We then reboarded the bus, Butte where the grade is the steepest (maybe 4 percent) we and paced the train for a bit before the highway diverged heard on the radio that one of the locomotives was having from the tracks. The bus driver, a woman who didn’t know minor trouble, but from what we could tell on the train every- people chase after and photograph trains, got interested in thing was fine, and we made it up the hill. From Signal Butte the hobby. The tour director had the bus driver stop a few we backed into Mount Shasta. Just outside of town we loaded times to scout out another good place to photograph the the passengers who did not want to get up extremely early. It train. He passed on several before deciding to stop just north was also where people who wanted to ride the chase bus of the California/Oregon border at Worden St. grade crossing. were supposed to get off the train, but again there was abso- Some women in a white car pulled up and asked me what all lutely no communication about this, so Dawn missed this the people are doing here, and I told them about the passen- opportunity to get to the chase bus (she got to the chase bus ger special. They decided to wait and see the train for them- later….). selves. The bus driver also got out to watch the train. I guess we made some railfans this day. We photographed the train We backed the remaining distance into the town of Mount in the distance going around a mountain with Mount Shasta Shasta, and coupled onto the other half of our train, coupled in the background, and then again as it came up the hill to on the Amtrak units, and coupled the SP F-unit onto our train. us. We then reboarded the bus for the final time, and went We sat quite some time trying to complete an air test, but the directly to the Klamath Falls Amtrak station. We pulled in just F-unit was having trouble with the brake stand. The people as the passenger special was pulling in. Perfect timing! We operating the tour were looking for anyone who was an engi- all photographed the train at the station before boarding the neer and might know how to repair the problem. They asked train, which departed at 2 pm. Page 11 The sliver in the center of the above photo is the Trains Unlimited Special. This gives a good perspective of the vastness of the territory traversed by the Coast Starlight and the convention special. Photo By Dawn Holmberg a m. We finally got underway quite late. The ride north was very scenic, and the dispatchers did the best that they could. From Thankfully, we didn’t have to be anywhere until 10:00 am. the train we saw the chase bus once or twice. We woke up late, washed up and went outside to wait for the bus. It came by around 10:30 am, and took us to downtown We enjoyed the ride north, past Klamath Lake, Crescent Florence, where we had two hours to eat lunch. We had lunch Lake, over Cascade Summit and downhill through the loops with a nice couple that was also on our trip, and we lucked near McCredie Springs (where we met a southbound freight out; the restaurant we chose had good service. We were train) and finally into Eugene. Dawn spent a lot of this time in served promptly and they had good food. After lunch we one or another vestibule taking photos of the train going into walked downtown to enjoy shopping and people watching. or out of the various snow sheds and tunnels. What a treat! Back to the buses by 1:00 pm, and off to the photo op where We waited for an Amtrak Cascades train to leave Eugene just the railroad crossed the Siuslaw River. There was a small before our arrival, and arrived Eugene around 7:45 pm. Din- campground at the bridge, and the people there were simply ner was loaded and we were on our way over the CORP overwhelmed by the group of 400 people who got off the 10 (Central Oregon and Pacific) railroad by about 8:30 pm. We school buses! enjoyed the vestibules and scenery out the windows until it was completely dark, and then visited with new-found friends It took a long time for the train to show up. While we were for a time, then fell asleep in our seats. waiting for the train, someone showed up with a remote con- trol helicopter to take pictures of the train. Just as he was up We arrived at Beck (don’t try to find Beck on a map; it is in the air, the train showed up. Once the train left, we all piled known only to the railroad, and is about 8 miles east from into the very crowded school buses and back 5 or 6 miles to Florence) at 12:30 am July 4th. Again, there was little commu- Beck to board the train. Along the way we saw our train and nication about what was to happen. We unloaded from the took more pictures. train, found the bus going to our hotel, and we were on our way in 30 minutes. Our hotel was the second stop, we got our After boarding, we were on our way back to Eugene. Due to room key, went to our room and went to sleep. It was 2:00 the photo op, we were running about an hour late. It was a Page 12 NRHS, $97 in newsletter expenses, $703 to Wisconsin Great slow scenic ride to Eugene through what seemed to be a Northern (for Spooner trip), $12 in expenses to John Good- green tunnel of trees most of the time. We arrived in Eugene man (for Spooner trip), and $8 in miscellaneous postage, for about 2 hours late, and we again picked up dinner. Riding up total expenses of $860. the UP former SP toward Portland, we heard the engineer report to the dispatcher that the crew would be dead on the Cash in checking account, as of June 30, 2005, was $4,046, law at Midnight. The dispatcher did what he could, and kept of which $3,805 was in the general fund and $240 was in the us in front of the Coast Starlight all the way to Portland. We GTW 8327 restoration fund. Current chapter membership is were put into a siding in the middle of nowhere around sun- 95, of whom 89 have renewed for 2005. The membership set, so we missed any pyrotechnic display celebrating Inde- total includes one new member. pendence Day. Trip chairman John Goodman said that he had been asked by As we were nearing Portland depot, our new friends who lived chapter president Marty Swan to look into a trip to Osceola, in the Portland, area offered to shuttle us to the hotel in their WI to ride on the Minnesota Transportation Museum's excur- car so that we might beat the crowds. Dan went straight to sion train. John said that he had asked Voigt for a quote on a the hotel and registered, and Dawn stayed behind and bus. Total price per person for the trip would be $80, or $75 fetched our suitcase. Dan returned with our new friends, and if we did it on a no profit basis. On the train, First Class Ser- they were kind enough to take us back to the hotel. We chat- vice would include pizza, box lunch, or pasta. The proposed ted with a couple folks for a few minutes, and went to bed. It trip was discussed. A key question was whether we could get was around 12:30 am on July 5th. enough turnout to make the numbers work. There was a show of hands of those interested in the trip. Proposed dates would be either Saturday, September 24th or Sunday, Sep- tember 25th. Saturday seemed to draw more interest than Sunday. It was suggested that we get a block of 10 or 15 seats, rather than the whole car. John said that he would see what he could do. Suggestions for getting to the train in- cluded renting a van or car-pooling from the Amtrak station. There will be a meeting of the chapter's Board of Directors tomorrow and the matter will be discussed there.

National Director Doug Johnson gave his report. Twelve Heri- tage Grants were given out this year and national NRHS is- sued a report on the chapters. The motion raising national dues $2 passed. At this point, Marty gave his report on the membership meeting held during this year's NRHS national convention. Marty said that he had asked why the NRHS couldn't go beyond the legal requirements of Maryland law. Southern Pacific GS4 class Northern on the turntable at Port- President Molloy didn't answer Marty's question, but the land’s Brooklyn Yard for the 2005 NRHS Convention night NRHS's attorney discussed the matter, also without answer- photo session Photo by Dawn Holmberg ing the question. A motion was made to table the proposed new by-laws for one year, but once the proxies were invoked, July Meeting Minutes this was defeated by a large margin, as the proxies sent out by National didn't mention that there was any opposition to Minutes of the July 16, 2005 Membership Meeting Northstar the weighted voting provisions in the proposed new by-laws. Chapter NRHS Marty said that he was disturbed by the actions of National NRHS in this matter. The new by-laws are now in effect. The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm by chapter presi- Northstar chapter now has 2 votes, but many other chapters dent Marty Swan in the St. Paul Fire Department Training have more. Marty said that we will have to see how things Center with 18 members and guests present. There was one work out. Marty also noted that he has accepted the nomina- guest, Bob Sutton, who is from New Jersey. A motion was tion to become Regional Director, but that Al Weber of the St. made to approve the minutes of the June 18, 2005 meeting, Louis chapter is also running. Right off the bat, he has 3 as published in the July 2005 issue of Northstar News. The votes to Marty's 2. motion was seconded and carried. The treasurer's report was given by Joe Fishbein. As of June 1, 2005, we had $4,302 in Editor Russ Isbrandt said that the theme of the August issue the checking account. Income during June was $64 in dues of Northstar News would be about members' reports of their and donations, $1 in checking account interest, $120 in trips to and experiences at the NRHS National Convention. ticket sales for Spooner trip, $318 in interest from maturing Webmaster Dan Meyer said that the website is still up and CD, and a $100 refund from Voigt's Bus Service, for total in- that he is still looking for pictures of past chapter trips and come of $603. more information on chapter history. National Convention chairman Dan Meyer said that he is working on getting fi- Expenses during June were $40 in dues payments to national nances of the National Convention closed down, with assis- Page 13 tance from Dick Fish and Doug Johnson. He had given a t ion Committee was mentioned. Cy Svobodny is the chair- check to national NRHS for $!,200, as their share of the pro- man. No one else had any Old Business. ceeds, and he presented a check to the chapter for $20,000. If there is any remaining balance, he hopes to be able to turn New Business - The chapter picnic will be held in the park it over in September. next to the BNSF track at Prescott, WI, as suggested at previ- ous meetings. A suggestion had been made to have the pic- John Goodman said that he had talked to Jim George, who nic catered, but, after a discussion, it was decided not to do suggested that the chapter buy two carousel slide projectors, this. Someone had suggested that a chapter membership as Kodak is discontinuing them, plus some carousel slide directory be put out, but it was noted that this might raise trays. Possible future programs were discussed. Dick privacy issues, as some might not want their information pub- Prosser is not able to travel at this time, but he may be well lished. Dan Meyer said that he had a relative who had some enough later in the year that he could come here to present a old model railroad magazines to give away. Anyone inter- program to us. Dan Meyer and Dawn Holmberg said that they ested should contact him. had visited with him. Glen Holmberg said that John Kennedy had told him that Prosser's niece (or some other relative) now A motion to adjourn the meeting was made, seconded, and has his slides and/or timetables. Greg Smith has two pro- carried at 7:52 pm. After a break, the program took place. grams, one of which we will use for our Holiday Party. Sev- This was the videodisc "Through the Official Guide." Marty eral others also have programs. Greg Smith will give his Min- Swan had taken a number of the film sequences used in the neapolis, Northfield, and Southern program at September's disc. membership meeting. Respectfully submitted, The program for October is yet to be decided--John said that he had an old tape that he is considering using. Dave Norman Secretary Northstar Chapter NRHS There was a report on the proposed Cheer Committee. Ben Pressnell is having surgery August 1st and Marty Swan is having surgery August 3rd. Dee Lundeen said that she had created custom cards that could be signed and sent to those chapter members needing cheering up.

The Holiday Banquet was discussed. Marty noted that the flyer for the banquet should be ready by October. Dennis Louden said that it is set for the first Sunday in December. The location and price will be the same as last year. The Elec-

Northstar News Northstar Chapter NRHS 4036 Birch Knoll Drive White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Address Correction Requested

Page 14 Electronic Distribution Extra Pages Editor’s Note Because there is no extra cost in adding additional material to the electronic distribution edition, I’m add- ing some of my trip notes for the Amtrak trip to Chicago and Los Angeles. This is just one more benefit of electing to receive the Northstar News via E-mail.

June 29, 2005 To Chicago Train #8 The Empire Builder Actual De- Late / Loss/ City Scheduled Actual Ar. part. Early Gain Lv. St. Paul 7:35 AM 9:47 AM Red Wing, MN 8:39 AM 11:19 AM 11:23 AM 2:40 2:40 Winona, MN 9:46 AM 12:31 PM 12:38 PM 2:45 0:05 LaCrosse, WI 10:22 AM 1:09 PM 1:15 PM 2:47 0:02 Tomah, WI 11:03 AM 1:55 PM 1:57 PM 2:52 0:05 Wisconsin Dells, WI 11:44 AM 2:38 PM 2:43 PM 2:54 0:02 Portage, WI 12:02 PM 3:00 PM 3:01 PM 2:58 0:04 Columbus, WI 12:32 PM 3:27 PM 3:32 PM 2:55 0:03 Ar. Milwaukee 2:00 PM 4:55 PM 5:04 PM 2:55 0:00 Ar. Glenview, Il 3:00 PM 7:24 PM 7:28 PM 4:24 1:29 Ar. Chicago 3:40 PM 7:53 PM 4:13 0:11

Train #8 The Empire Builder 80 P 42 75 P 42 1163 B aggage Transition 39036 s leeper 32052 S leeper Superliner 32068 S leeper Superliner 38059 D iner Superliner 35009 S nack Coach Superliner Coach - 34111 S moking Superliner 33028 Lounge Superliner 34091 C oach Superliner Coach - Bag- 31003 gage Superliner 32016 S leeper Superliner 34074 C oach Superliner Northern Sky ACF Dome Private car

Page 15 A bbreviations EB-Eastbound WB-Westbound MF-Miwed Freight STK-Stack Train Containers only IM-Intermodal-trailers or trailers and containers GRN-Grain Train Coal June 29, 2005 To Chicago Notes: 10:10am-10:29am Red Signal dropped in frt of engineer Emerg Stop and Rollby 10:25am CP 5957 did rollyby of #8 10:54am Overtook ICE train w DM&E 6054at St. Crois 10:59am WB Local Hastings 1102am WB F45 Blue Grain Hopper 11:03am WB CP MF Vermillion 11:09am EB MF 11:32am WB MF 11:42am WB Coal BNSF power 11:53am Took siding at Midland for XCP9604W and X CP 4608W 12:12pm EB MF Minnesota City Blue unit on front 12:21pm EB CP MF 1:00pm WB CP MF Donehower 1:21pm WB CP MF Medary Patrol? Incl switcher 2:10pm WB UP Coal 3:38pm WB CP MF 4:11pm Nashota CP 291 4:37pm Hawley Rd WB MF 4:47pm - 4:49pm Stop 16th St Frt interference 4:55pm Amtk #7 in station 5:07pm MKE WB IM going thru station 5:13pm-5:39pm WB MF with blue FP40 Stop KK Bridge 5:26pm WB MF 5:34pm WB MF 4 units 5:43pm Amtrk 337 at KK Bridge 6:04pm -6:10pm Stop Milw Airport to manually align switch back to main from siding 6:10pm EB MF on siding at MKE Airport 6:53pm mp 36 Overtook CP #288 followed on approach signals to Tower A20 7:06pm WB Metra #2147 7:08pm WB Amtrk #339 7:17pm-7:18pm Stop mp 22.2 7:33pm WB MF 7:43pm WB Metra #2249 West Line Train Page 16 June 30, 2005 To Los Angeles Train #3 The Southwest Chief Actual De- City Scheduled Actual Ar. part. Late /Early Loss/Gain Lv. Chicago 3:15 PM 3:16 PM Naperville, IL 3:50 PM 3:46 PM 3:50 PM 0:04 0:04 Mendota, IL 4:39 PM 4:38 PM 4:39 PM 0:01 0:03 Princeton, IL 5:01 PM 4:57 PM 5:01 PM 0:04 0:03 Galesbureg, IL 5:53 PM 5:57 PM 6:01 PM 0:04 0:00 Ft. Madison, IA 6:57 PM 6:56 PM 7:01 PM 0:01 0:03 La Plata, MO 8:06 PM 8:00 PM 8:06 PM 0:06 0:05 Kansas City, MO 10:11 PM 10:12 PM 0:01 0:05 Kansas City, MO 10:55 PM 10:55 PM 0:00 Lawrence, KS 12:32 AM 12:00 AM 12:32 AM 0:32 0:31 Topeka, KS 1:09 AM Newton, KS 3:25 AM 3:25 AM 3:33 AM 0:00 Hutchinson, KS 4:00 AM 0:00 Dodge City, KS 6:00 AM Garden City KS CDT 6:45 AM Lamar, CO MDT 7:06 AM 7:27 AM 7:28 AM 0:21 0:21 La Junta, CO 8:15 AM 8:20 AM 0:05 0:16 La Junta, CO 8:30 AM 8:39 AM 0:09 0:09 Trinadad, CO 9:50 AM 10:03 AM 10:06 AM 0:13 0:04 Raton, NM 10:55 AM 11:02 AM 11:09 AM 0:07 0:06 Las Vegas, NM 12:18 PM Lamy, NM 2:24 PM 2:34 PM 2:36 PM 0:10 0:03 Albuquerque, NM 3:55 PM 3:37 PM 0:18 0:18 Albuquerque, NM 4:45 PM 4:47 PM 0:02 0:16 Gallup, NM MDT 7:08 PM 7:11 PM 7:20 PM 0:03 0:01 Winslow, AZ MST 7:50 PM 7:56 PM 8:01 PM 0:06 0:03 Flagstaff, AZ MST 8:51 PM 9:12 PM 0:21 0:15 Flagstaff, AZ MST 8:57 PM 9:21 PM 0:24 0:03 Williams, JCT, AZ MST 9:33 PM Kingman, AZ MST 11:46 PM Needles, CA PDT 12:49 AM Barstow, CA 3:39 AM Victorville, CA 4:18 AM San Bernardino, CA 5:32 AM 6:36 AM 6:42 AM 1:04 0:40 Riverside, CA 5:53 AM 7:00 AM 7:02 AM 1:07 1:07 Fullerton, CA 6:34 AM 7:44 AM 7:50 AM 1:10 0:03 Los Angeles, CA 8:15 AM 8:22 AM 0:07 1:03

Page 17 Notes: Abbreviations EB-Eastbound WB-Westbound MF-Miwed Freight STK-Stack Train Containers only IM-Intermodal-trailers or trailers and containers GRN-Grain Train Coal

5:10pm EB between Wyanet and Buda 5:44pm EB MF 5:46-5:55pm Stop BN Jct over the ATSF main before entering Galesburg 6:13pm To ATSF met EB MF 6:47pm overtook 2 IM on a siding Train #3 The South- 6:56pm EB STK train Ft. Madison west Chief 93 P 42 7:23pm EB MT TOFC cars 163 P 42 7:57pm Overtook Autoracks e of LaPlata 504 P 32-8 8:11pm EB IM 458 F P59PHI 8:17pm EB IM 1251 B aggage

8:24pm EB GRN 39030 T ransition Superliner 8:56pm EB IM 32117 S leeper Superliner Wisconsin 9:47pm EB IM 32042 S leeper Superliner 9:56pm EB IM 38024 D iner Superliner 10:00pm EB IM 34057 C oach Superliner 10:34pm EB IM Thru Station 34038 C oach Superliner 10:40pm EB IM 33012 Lounge Superliner 10:53pm WB IM Thru station 32071 S leeper Superliner Arizona 11:15-11:24pm Stop Argentine Yard 74100 E xpress Trak Box Car 3:36am Meet Amtrk 4 west of Newton Sta 8:12am EB Coal near LaJunta 11:00am EB GRN at Raton 2:20pm Meet Amtrk 4 4 miles west of Glorieta at Canyoncito 5:21pm Dalies WB GRN w Helper 5:23pm WB Auto racks 5:26pm STK train direction unknown 5:28pm EB STK 5:30pm EB MF 5:48pm EB STK 5:49pm WB MF 5:51pm EB Auto racks 5:55pm EB STK 5:57pm EB STK immediately behind train above

Page 18 5:59pm EB IM 6:03pm EB IM 6:06pm EB IM 6:18pm EB STK 7:24pm EB STK 7:30pm EB IM 7:39pm EB IM 7:55pm EB IM 8:03pm EB STK 8:11pm EB IM 8:17pm EB GRN Note Arizona does not observe Daylight times. Local times are shown in parentheses 8:28pm MDT WB IM overtaken at Holbrook, AZ (7:28pm local time) 8:52pm WB STK NS units overtaken Winslow (7:52pm local time) 9:03pm overtook STK west of Winslow (8:03pm local time) 9:19pm EB STK (8:19pm local time) 9::35pm-9:46pm stop and proceed at restricted speed to next signal. Dark signal ( 8:35pm local time) 9:55pm EB unknown type (8:55pm local time) 10:04pm EB Unknown (9:04pm local time) 10:29pm EB IM (9:25pm local time) 10:38pm EB Unknown (9:38pm local time) 6:54am PDT EB MF 7:04am EB STK 8:00am EB IM

Page 19 J uly 4, 2005 To Portland Train #14 The Coast Starlight City Scheduled Actual Ar. Actual Depart. Late /Early Loss/Gain Lv. Los Angles 10:15 AM 10:51 AM 0:36 Van Nuys 10:42 AM 11:14 AM 11:19 AM 0:32 0:04 Simi Valley 11:22 AM 11:45 AM 11:49 AM 0:23 0:09 Oxnard 11:55 AM 12:19 PM 12:23 PM 0:24 0:01 Santa Barbara 12:45 PM 1:09 PM 1:16 PM 0:24 0:00 San Luis Obispo 3:43 PM 3:51 PM 4:05 PM 0:08 0:16 Paso Robles 4:45 PM 5:07 PM 5:10 PM 0:22 0:14 Salinas 6:36 PM 8:26 PM 8:33 PM 1:50 1:28 San Jose 8:27 PM 10:03 PM 1:36 0:14 San Jose 8:39 PM 10:13 PM 1:34 0:02 Oakland 9:32 PM 11:26 PM 1:54 0:20 Oakland 9:47 PM 11:46 PM 1:59 0:05 Emeryville 10:02 PM Emeryville 10:12 PM Martinez 10:54 PM 12:36 AM 12:41 AM 1:42 0:17 Davis 11:33 PM Sacramento 11:59 PM Chico 1:55 AM Redding 3:14 AM Dunsmuir 5:04 AM 7:20 AM 7:23 AM 2:16 0:34 Klamath Falls, OR 8:25 AM 10:57 AM 11:07 AM 2:32 0:16 Chemult 9:40 AM 12:43 PM 12:51 PM 3:03 0:31 Eugene-Springfield 12:44 PM 4:24 PM 4:31 PM 3:40 0:37 Albany 1:30 PM 5:21 PM 5:27 PM 3:51 0:11 Salem 2:03 PM 6:47 PM 6:49 PM 4:44 0:53 Portland 3:40 PM 8:17 PM 4:37 0:07 Train #14 The Coast Starlight 14 P 42 Off At Oakland 120 P 42 113 P 43 1222 B aggage Transition 39021 s leeper Superliner Car Line 32042 S leeper Superliner 1432

32109 S leeper Superliner 1431 S outh Da- 32072 S leeper Superliner 1430 A rkansas 39974 P acific Parlour Hi Level 38056 Di ner Superliner Sightseer 33048 L ounge Superliner 34078 C oach Superliner 1411 34510 F amily Coach Superliner 1412 34083 C oach Superliner 1413 34006 C oach Superliner 1414 Page 20 Notes: 11:25-11:27am Stop for meet with Surfliner 1:26pm overtook MF 2:38-2:45pm Tangair met SB Amtrak with Great Dome in consist 3:40-3:44pm Stop Reason unknwn 5:27-5:50pm McCay Met Amtrk 11 with PVT CAR Scottish Thistle on rear 6:19pm Momentary stop 6:25-6:27pm Stop 6:48-6:51pm Met EB empty STK 7:23-7:35pm Stop Soladad for meet which was changed 7:41-8:09pm Gonzales MetX5809E MF with shifted lumber load 5 cars frm headend 8:40pm EB MF 9:27-9:40pm Integrety failure stopped to inspect no problem 6:58am WB MF Conant 1 WB met between Dunsmuir and Klamath Falls 12:29pm EB MF MP493 overtaken

Slow Orders between Klamath Falls and Che- 1:46-1:59pm Defect indicated MP 544.2 rollby no defect found 3:31pm EB MF w 2 unit helper 4:18pm EB MF 4:38-4:43pm Stop unknown rea- son 5:59-6:01pm Stop for track warrant Marion much 25mph running 6:26-6:31pm Talked by red signal 6:33pm Met Amtrk 11 with pvt cars at end Renard 6:37-6:39pm Talked thru red signal Renard siding Took 40min to go 13 miles south of Salem 6:53pm Stop talked thru red signal 7:22pm-7:23pm Stop to protect grade crossing-police protected instead of crew Woodburn 7:30pm WB MF 7:55pm WB IM 8:04pm WB IM 8:12pm WB MF Abbreviations EB-Eastbound WB-Westbound MF-Mixed Freight STK-Stack Train Containers only IM-Intermodal-trailers or trailers and containers GRN-Grain Train Coal

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